It’s not every day that your niece asks you to choreograph her first dance for her wedding! Without hesitation, I answered with a resounding, “yes!” Barrie White’s, “My Everything, ” was the chosen song, and the basement of Diamond Hill Church in Cos Cob was my rehearsal studio. You’d be surprised how much can get done in a short time, in a  small space, just outside the bathrooms of a church. Dori and Dave, the dancers of this romantic, theatrical duet, were eager and on their game each time we met.

Suited in simulated wedding attire, with an added prop of a hat, donned by Dave, the two lovers whirled and dipped their way into the dance, as if auditioning for “So You Think You Can Dance!”  I had to put in some quirky, Barrie White moments, “hey baby…love ya baby…you’re my one and only…” but directed in such a way that characterized a dignified, sophisticated conquest of a couple in love—NOT!! We pulled out all the stops, and on May 14th, the fever broke, and the crowd went nuts over the gorgeous girl in white and the dude with the hat! I give these two an A+ for technique, character, and a job well done! Kudos to photographer, Dustin Herlich for getting these terrific shots!

My mother lived to a ripe young age of 62. I found solace in choreographing this solo, now 13 years ago. It had taken me four years after her death to get around to my real feelings, I guess, as she died in 1994. I recall the night well when I performed this solo at the Cunningham Dance Studio, in NYC.

My mother recalled a dream to me before her death that had to do with seeing me in a chair. I told her that I had had a dream that she died. She said to me, “Sometimes dreams about death are not always about the person dying.” In the text I wrote for the piece, I replied to that by saying, “… but sometimes they are.” As dreams are the window to our soul, I’ll dedicate this Mother’s Day to the souls of all mothers who have passed.